OTTAWA, Ont. – When Brooke Henderson was nine, the LPGA Tour played the CP Women’s Open at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, where she got to meet Morgan Pressel – her idol at the time.
Fast-forward almost a decade and Henderson was playing in the same field as Pressel on the same course at the 2017 edition of that tournament, as it returned to Canada’s capital city, now with more LPGA Tour wins than her childhood idol.
They took a photo together when Henderson was a youngster, and just a few months ago the Canadian showed it to Pressel, now 29.
“She just thought it was so cute and so funny, and it had meant to much to me,” said Henderson Tuesday at Eagle Creek Golf Club in Dunrobin, Ont., about 45 minutes from downtown Ottawa.
Henderson was in town during the LPGA Tour’s off-week, and participated in the Kevin Haime Kids to the Course Classic, an event that helps growing the game by drive funds for junior golfers in the Ottawa area to get memberships to local clubs.
Henderson participated in a Q&A and a clinic for more than 100 junior golfers, along with posing for photos and signing autographs for almost an hour afterwards. She said that photo with Pressel helped her along the way as she pursued her golf dream, and hopefully she can do the same thing for a lot of local juniors – many of whom dressed just like her in shades of pink and her iconic Ping visor.
“They get so excited and look up to me to get an autograph or a picture… it’s an amazing feeling,” said Henderson. “I remember getting that autograph from Morgan Pressel and I was so excited. I try to give them the same feeling now that I’m that pro.”
Henderson’s sixth LPGA Tour win came at the LOTTE Championship in April. The high-water mark for Canadian professionals (male or female) is eight, and technically she has a chance to become the winningest Canadian professional golfer of all time this year.
She said Tuesday her big goal for the rest of 2018 is to be in the top six of the Race to the CME Globe so she has a chance to win the bonus million dollars at the end of the year (she’s fifth currently). She also said she’d love to win a couple more times, and admitted getting a win early in the year took some pressure off.
She continues to play around with her putter – she told LPGA.com she’s switched back to ‘old faithful,’ the putter she used when she won the Cambia Portland Classic the first time, in 2015, but said with a smile the putter she used to win in Hawaii this year may come back out from the garage next week depending on how she feels next Monday – but sits fourth in Scoring Average and 10th in Driving Distance this year, and feels like she is in form.
The clinic on Tuesday allowed Henderson to hit a full series of balls from wedges to driver – which left the children (and parents) in attendance in awe – although she admitted she was a little nervous after not hitting any balls on Monday, a rarity for her.
Kevin Haime, the Ottawa-based instructor and 2017 PGA of Canada Junior Leader of the Year, said having both Henderson sisters (Brooke’s older sister/caddie/professional-golfer-in-her-own-right Brittany Henderson was also in attendance) at the Kids to the Course classic has been great. Tuesday was the 11th-annual event, and third straight with the Henderson’s in attendance.
“It adds another level of attention and prestige to the whole day,” said Haime, who along with his wife Lisa have bestowed 630 memberships on junior golfers in the past decade-plus.
“Our whole program is about growing the game, that’s why my wife and I started it, to get kids into the game but we can’t do what Brooke can do… (My wife and I) are doing our share, but the way the kids are looking at Brooke and Brittany is just spectacular. There is an indelible imprint on their brain to watch her hit a golf ball, so it’s pretty special to having her here.”
Haime said the youngsters in the audience can relate to Henderson well, because she’s from a small town (Smiths Falls, Ont.’s population is about 8,700 people) and never went through a high-level academy, she was taught by her father – who remains her coach today – before participating in Golf Canada’s National Team program.
“I think that’s a great message to send to kids in Saskatchewan and Newfoundland, places like that. You don’t need a billion dollars in lessons to make it to the top,” said Haime, who saw this year that in one of his young coaching programs, seven out of the 12 participants are girls, which he wouldn’t have normally seen before.
“Mike Weir did a lot for Canada when he won the Masters in 2003, but I think Brooke has the charisma that is really special, and I’m looking for great things in Canada for ladies golf over the next few years.”
Although Henderson has just turned 20, she laughed when a local television reporter told her she was now a veteran. Although she said it felt like she’s been “out here” for a lot longer than the three years of her professional career, she continues to enjoy it every day.
And like Pressel all those years ago, she’s anxious to see who might come from one of these meet-and-greets and join her on the LPGA Tour one day.
“It’s hard to believe that I can have that much impact on someone. The other day I was telling someone, ‘Am I really that interesting?’” Henderson said, laughing. “To realize that it does inspire them and it does help them with their golf game and their lives… when I sign something they just light up with a huge smile. It’s really cool for me.”
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